SSN and Marriage

[baron555 934]

According to the K-1 flowchart on visajourney it says you should apply for a SSN before marriage then change your name on the SSN afterwards. However, in the state I live you do not need a SSN to get married.

How can you ask such a question when you haven't told us the state in which you live? You can find this information yourself; it will be a good learning experience for you.

In the the county where I live a SSN was not required for the marriage license.

Is it possibly to just get married first then apply for a SSN? We plan on getting married a few days after her arrival to the states.

thanks in advance.

Edited December 28, 2009 by baron555

[rebeccajo 14]

Gee Thanks RJ. I know how to do I-9s. Now the OP has his answer from me and the instrucions on how to fill out the I-9 from you.

Did you think the OP wanted you to instruct me on how to comply with the I-9 form? I have given the OP good advice on how to avoid a lot of headaches with morons in the SS administration, which was the point of the thread. Since you will always have the last word, I will allow you to babble more irrelevent BS and have your last word. The OP has the answer to his question. Anything else is typical RJ arguing anything possible with Gary to prove ...what? As usual, you are making much ado over nothing. At no point have I adivsed the OP not to get the card in the proper name, only WHEN to do so to avoid delays and hassels at SSA. I have also pointed out, truthfully, that it really is a fairly useless document in and of itself. If I haven't found a need for it in 35 years, what exactly is it good for? Just because a few individuals "prefer it" means nothing, The Green Card is the ultimate employment document. Expiration dates are irrelevent, Drivers lisences have expiration dates also, so what?

babble on.

Gary -

I'm not 'babbling' and I'm not making 'much ado about nothing'. The conversation has only veered off in this direction because you maintain a SS card is 'worthless'.

A Social Security card is an important document for an immigrant to this country. They probably need one 'more' than you or I. To give you an example, during the lifting of conditions phase there is a 'window' wherein the alien can appear to not be authorized for employment. That occurs after the conditional greencard has expired and before the NOA for the ROC has been issued. While an employer is not supposed to ask an alien to 're-verify' their employment eligibility after a green card has been produced, in the real world it happens everyday. On other immigration boards that I frequent, the common advice to avoid this problem (should the employer illegally ask for re-verification) is to have other documents which satisfy the I9 instead of fiddling about with a NOA letter. The documents most easily obtained by an alien which satisfy the I9 are a driver's license and a Social Security card.

As far as expiry dates of documents go - you might be more acquainted with how employers use the expiry date of a green card to discriminate against aliens in the workplace if Alla were working outside the home OR if you were further along in the immigrant process. As I mentioned above, while an employer is not supposed to ask an alien to re-verify their employment eligibility after a green card has expired, it does happen everyday. There are numerous accounts within this community of aliens being asked to produce new documents which prove their eligibility to work. I have even read a couple of accounts of aliens who were discharged from their jobs because the green card was expired.

The bottom line is employer's seem to understand they don't need to re-verify a driver's license (even though it expires). And they understand a Social Security card. So these are the two documents which prove employment eligibility in a way which will cause the alien less problems in the future.

As you can see, it's not just the Social Security office which has morons working there. Many employers can't figure out what to do with a green card either. But a job is a job and in the interest of preserving peace in the workplace, it doesn't hurt for the alien to have another way to skin the cat.

[Darnell 8,478]

Some other 'fun' SSN/SSA things.

Some states, need one to file for the marriage license/certificate, at a county courthouse.

CBP/POE/DHS computer systems don't sync up in real time, so if you go to SSA office the next day after POE, there is good chance the 'data update' into SAVE hasn't happened yet, so

- I suggest to wait 2 weeks and 2 days from POE date.

- How to tell if you will have problems? Go in person to the office, make the application. If they say 'need more time, cannot issue/approve today' - then you either got moron worker, not know how to use SAVE system, or you really aren't in there. If you 'allow' them to process the application, with this waiting, you are lost, doomed, etc. etc. If is no record of you in SAVE, then come back on that 2 week and 2 day time tick (from POE date) but.. if it is after that date, ask for supervisor, remind him/her you are K1 visa holder, and the process is different.

- The SSA has some policies about 'not approving' a SSN application if yer within 14 (15?) days of the I-94 expiration date, regardless of marital status. So if you not be diligent about your SSN application, think 'gov worker told me to wait 6 weeks', then you've doomed yourself again, it will auto-age-out for the application.

- Go to other SSA office if you have plateful of morons at the first SSA office.

Good Luck, with whatever yer doing.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Some other 'fun' SSN/SSA things.

Some states, need one to file for the marriage license/certificate, at a county courthouse.

CBP/POE/DHS computer systems don't sync up in real time, so if you go to SSA office the next day after POE, there is good chance the 'data update' into SAVE hasn't happened yet, so

- I suggest to wait 2 weeks and 2 days from POE date.

- How to tell if you will have problems? Go in person to the office, make the application. If they say 'need more time, cannot issue/approve today' - then you either got moron worker, not know how to use SAVE system, or you really aren't in there. If you 'allow' them to process the application, with this waiting, you are lost, doomed, etc. etc. If is no record of you in SAVE, then come back on that 2 week and 2 day time tick (from POE date) but.. if it is after that date, ask for supervisor, remind him/her you are K1 visa holder, and the process is different.

- The SSA has some policies about 'not approving' a SSN application if yer within 14 (15?) days of the I-94 expiration date, regardless of marital status. So if you not be diligent about your SSN application, think 'gov worker told me to wait 6 weeks', then you've doomed yourself again, it will auto-age-out for the application.

- Go to other SSA office if you have plateful of morons at the first SSA office.

Good Luck, with whatever yer doing.

Good advice Darnell. There ARE no impediments to a K-1 getting an SSN, if the untrained worker balks at it at all, they are untrained and can only cause problems for you from that moment forward. Get a supervisor. The SAVE system is updated every night, you should be in there the next day after you arrive, there is no need to wait two weeks. My wife got her SSN 16 hours after arriving.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that states CANNOT require an SSN for a marriage lisence. they may request it but cannot require it for lisence issuance

[phopho06 0]

According to the K-1 flowchart on visajourney it says you should apply for a SSN before marriage then change your name on the SSN afterwards. However, in the state I live you do not need a SSN to get married.

Is it possibly to just get married first then apply for a SSN? We plan on getting married a few days after her arrival to the states.

thanks in advance.

as what i did i got ssn when i got here so that you can ahve a back account and so that you can get a drivers license and after that when you get married apply for AOS and when your working permit will be arriving to your mail then you can just go there and change your SSn to your married name..

[Mloda88 0]

Ok, I have a couple of questions after reading this thread.

I was living in the USA for a year and a half and working as an au pair. I was on a J-1 visa and I have a SSN already. I want to change my last name after I get married to my fiance. Gary said earlier that he advises not to change the last name on the SS card before receiving the Green Card. Is that correct? But I will have to apply for the Green Card and file in the forms with my new last name, correct? Won't that be a problem since the name on the SS card will be my maiden name?

Is there something I will have to do with my SS card after I get to the US(besides changing the name after receiving the GC) ? Or nothing at all since I already have it?

I hope it's not a problem that I ask these questions in this thread.

Thank you!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Since you do have a SSN issued to you, you submit that with your AOS application. You are not allowed to work until your AOS is approved, so you can change the name on your card whenever it's convenient for you. Even so, I would wait until you get your GC before you do that. There's plenty of paperwork to be done, and changing the name on the SS card is not a big priority.

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm moving this thread to the Working and Traveling forum as the conversation has turned to a point where we need more input.

[I'm Gone 60]

I was living in the USA for a year and a half and working as an au pair. I was on a J-1 visa and I have a SSN already. I want to change my last name after I get married to my fiance. Gary said earlier that he advises not to change the last name on the SS card before receiving the Green Card. Is that correct? But I will have to apply for the Green Card and file in the forms with my new last name, correct? Won't that be a problem since the name on the SS card will be my maiden name?

Is there something I will have to do with my SS card after I get to the US(besides changing the name after receiving the GC) ? Or nothing at all since I already have it?

There is no connection between the name on your SSN record and the name you used to file your AOS. You are adjusting from a K-1 and you will provide a copy of your marriage certificate, they will figure it out if you apply with your married name.

If it was me I would at least try to get the SSN record corrected once you are married based on your K-1 status. Overall more women have had a problem applying as a K-1 with the married name than the maiden name, but you already have an SSN, so you have nothing to lose by trying. If you don't have an SSN card and have trouble applying with the married name at least get a replacement card with your maiden name.

Most states compare the driver's license (DL) application name to the SSN record, so you might need to get your DL in your maiden name if you don't update the SSN record.

Title 26 Part 31 Sec. 31.6011 b-2 Employees' account numbers.

(i) Employee who has account number card. If the employee has been issued an account number card by the Social Security Administration and has the card available, the employee shall show it to the employer.

Edited December 29, 2009 by I Quit